Negotiating Trade Deal With US Aim Of EU Officials’ Visit: Trump


07/19/2018



Leaders form the European Union are visiting Washington next week to try and iron out a deal with the United States primarily with respect to car the threatened US tariffs on EU cars exported into the US, said President Donald Trump on Wednesday.
 
At the same time, one of Trump’s top economic advisors lay blame on the Chinese President Xi Jinping of delaying a possible trade deal between the US and China.
 
Car tariffs, which according to Trump is “the big one” in the U.S.-EU trade irritants, would be discussed when European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker visits the US, Trump told reporters at the White House.
 
Compared to the 2.5 per cent import tariff that the US currently imposes on EU cars, the 10 per cent tariff on cars from the US into the EU is considered to be unfair by Trump even though the US still imposes a 25 per cent import tariffs on pickup trucks.
 
“They’re going to be coming on July 25th to negotiate with us. We said if we don’t negotiate something fair, then we have tremendous retribution. Which we don’t want to use, but we have tremendous powers,” Trump said.
 
As imposition of new tariffs of as much as 25 per cent on cars being exported from the EU has been threatened by Trump even as a study on whether vehicle and parts imports in the US threaten national security is being conducted by the Commerce secretary, Wilbur Ross.
 
He has been told that Juncker would be “bringing a very important free trade offer” to Trump on his visit, said Larry Kudlow, who heads the White House Economic Council, in a separate comment at an investment forum in New York.
 
A deal to end dueling U.S. and Chinese tariffs is being blocked from being completed by Xi, Kudlow said he believes. Xi has not agreed to conditions like to making alterations in China’s technology transfer and some of the other trade policies even though a number of the lower-ranking officials which includes Xi’s top economic adviser Liu He, want a US-China trade deal, he added.
 
“So far as we know, President Xi, at the moment, does not want to make a deal,” Kudlow said at the Delivering Alpha conference.
 
“I think Xi is holding the game up. I think Liu He and others would like to move but haven’t,” Kudlow said. “We are waiting for him (Xi). The ball is in his court.”
  
He said that US tariffs could be ended by China “this afternoon by providing a more satisfactory approach” and undertaking measures that are also being called for by other countries. 
 
Kudlow said that the measures include reduction of tariff and non-tariff barriers to imports, bringing an end to “theft” of intellectual property and making complete foreign ownership of companies operational in China legal as soon as possible.
 
(Source:www.reuters.com)